As of: November 4th, 2023 11:54 p.m
An armed driver entered the Hamburg airport premises on Saturday evening. Flight operations were completely stopped. According to police, the man has a four-year-old child hostage in his car. A custody dispute may have escalated.
An armed man broke through a gate with his vehicle around 8 p.m. and drove onto the airport apron, said Thomas Gerbert, spokesman for the federal police. The man shot twice into the air after entering the area. Pictures from the airport that evening showed a damaged barrier through which the man had apparently raced.
Custody dispute probably background to the crime
The man’s wife had previously reported to the state police about possible child abduction, the spokesman said. The police assume that a custody dispute is the background to the hostage-taking. According to what we know so far, the child, who the police say is probably 35-year-old man, was with his mother in Stade on Saturday. It is assumed that the father “took the child away” from the mother and possibly put him in the car using force before driving to Hamburg and onto the airport tarmac, a police spokeswoman said late in the evening.
State and federal police at the airport
Strong forces from the state and federal police are on site, said police spokesman Gerbert, including a special operations team and police psychologists. They were near the vehicle. This also includes the Federal Police’s Evidence and Arrest Unit. “They are very robustly equipped,” said Gerbert.
Police negotiate with the hostage taker in Turkish
Special police forces stand in front of the “Survivor” emergency vehicle at Hamburg Airport.
The police say they are in contact with the gunman. “We have good contact with the perpetrator,” said a police spokeswoman late Saturday evening. The man is being negotiated in Turkish. InIt was confirmed that a four-year-old child was in the car with the man. It was unclear whether there was a second child in the vehicle, as initially suspected.
Man throws “some kind of Molotov cocktail”
The man threw two burning bottles out of the car, “some kind of Molotov cocktails,” said Gerbert. There was no damage and the airport fire department was able to extinguish the bottles. The airport is currently being evacuated; this is a security measure, he said.
There was initially no information about possible injuries. The police also do not see any acute danger to third parties. A plane parked on the apron has now been cleared.
AUDIO: Hamburg Airport closed: The situation on site (5 min)
Takeoffs and landings completely canceled
The airport’s homepage said late in the evening: “Due to a police measure on the apron at Hamburg Airport, there will be no more take-offs and landings today, November 4th.” All affected passengers should contact the airline directly.
Climate activists invaded on bicycles in July
Hamburg airport had already been closed in October, but at that time because of a threat of attack on a plane from Tehran to Hamburg. In July, climate activists from the group Last Generation shut down Hamburg airport for hours when they entered the area on bicycles. Flight operations had to be stopped for several hours for safety reasons. Thousands of passengers, including many families with children, were affected.
